Doors didn't open automatically -- couldn't pump own gasoline -- no computers -- no calculators or digital watches -- no microwaves, or cable/satellite TV, no cell phones, no cordless phones, no compact fluorescent bulbs, no hybrid cars, not much health food, no fitness centers, no yoga centers, no color TV, no CD players, no VHS or DVD, no plastic bags at grocery, no stickers with codes on fruit, frozen yogurt wasn't invented yet, no space flights, long distance calls were quite expensive, there were lots of mom & pop stores and not many national chains, smoking was allowed in the workplace, musical genres were more limited, leisure suits were popular (oh my!) ..... gee, don't want to go back ...... I like these times better.

When I was growing up it was still o.k to play outside in the sun. Nowadays you have to apply a thick layer of sunscreen before being outdoors for an extended period of time.

when i was nine untill about eleven years old we went to a one room schoolhouse that had no electricity and had a wood stove in the middle of the classroom.there was an outhouse some twenty feet from the school and a pump outside for water.the desks were double and sat two people and every one from first grade to sixth grade were in the same room.during the winter if it looked as if a storm was coming ,we would be sent home early.our family lived two miles from the school and so it was a two mile walk along dirt roads.the only thing missing would be if i could say that i was born in a log cabin,which i wasn t and i didn t read any books by the light of the fireplace either.

I remember not having central heating and in winter we would have jumpers on in bed just to keep warm,mind you the winters were worse then.There were no use by or sell by dates so god only knows what i was eating.

When I was a kid we had one TV with only 4 channels on it, no video games, on phone in the kitchen attached to the wall and one in my parent's room(not cordless). We were the remote control for the TV. We played records on a record player. We had five people and only three bedrooms(yes my brothers had to share a room). There was no such room as a great room or media room, we had a living room/den and a kitchen. We played games where we ran around outside in actual nature. We had a machete to build forts and there wasn't a safety device within miles of any of our play things. Some of our toys were made of metal. We rode our bikes to the store and used soda bottle return money to buy candy. We visited all of our relatives regularly. If an older person came into a room the younger people would offer them their chair even if there were plenty of chairs not taken. The adults ate first at family get together then the children were fed. Everyone was expected to do their part around the house. We had a lot of fun and were excited over the smallest things, it was a great time.

Growing up we were really short of money, and as a result were taught to look after what we were given (I still don't dog-ear the pages of a novel, or break the spine of a paperback); we were also raised to be respectful of our elders, to say 'please' and thank you'. Anything we bought was the result of saving up for it, not saying 'I want!!'.

not so many cable channels,no high speed net connections-----but still was never bored

most tv's are in color now I remember when my parents go a "colour"tv (wow) cable. We had 3 channels... fox television..I rember when fox 1st started.. It was a little nothing ststion cable was 5.27 a month when I was 21 yrs old you pulled in to a gas station and the average purchase was 2.dollars in gas. my family had a spring house where our water was piped into our house from (what was a pager, what was a cell phone. what was a pc?) Computer what ?? It wasn t sheek for a woman to have sex with a woman. every thing was HOMEMADE UUMmmm there was no answerbag :(

My aunt and uncle bought a brand new car in the '60's. They took our whole family on a ride in it. Altogether there were 6 kids in the back seat. We found these "things", wedged in between the back and the seat, "hey what are these?", we started pulling them out. "Put those back where your Uncle Bob had them, they aren't toys. THEY WERE SEATBELTS! And we weren't allowed to touch them because we might dirty them up and decrease resale!

I remember outside toilets, black & white tv, a total absence of anything electrical that I now take for granted (remote controls, microwaves, electric razors, etc). Bookshops were places rich people went - everyone else had to go to the library. Certain times of the week were reserved for certain things (like the top 40 countdown early on a Sunday evening. Saturday - all day - was all about running around after a ball or riding a bike somewhere). No-one had heard the terms 'paedophile' or 'serial killer'. Children were allowed to take risks and learn from the results. Respect was something given automatically to anyone older than you and not something demanded by those younger than you. Smoking was socially de-rigeur rather than social death, and the only cookery program on t.v. was Fanny Craddock. Single-income families were the norm. My dog used to take me to infant school and bring me back. Bubble gum was in some way 'daring' (please don't ask me why, I don't remember). Going on holiday meant going without a car, and if you went shopping you went on foot or by bus. Lastly, I remember a complete absence of any comprehension of the term 'style' or 'fashion'. It just wasn't in anyone's vocabulary - I wore checked trousers while at junior school which could have been stolen from Rupert Bear.

As I was a small kid in Paris my parents had no car, no TV, no washing machine, no vacuum cleaner, a radio but no record player. When we were going to the country for holidays we had a big oven in the kitchen to cook and warm the water for bathing. We had to pump the water and use a bucket. We had no electricity there, so we used petrol lamps. And I wrote my first program on Hollerith cards.